Note: Se-Yong’s (김세용) Final Performance as Billy was in Seoul on February 26, 2011
Debut: August 22, 2010 (Seoul)
Total Performances as Billy: 49 (includes 2 partial shows credited @.5)
Se-Yong Kim, who is from Yongin, brought with him to Billy auditions the best ballet resume of any of the four boys selected for the role. He is truly gifted in ballet and, for that reason, really stood out at the auditions.
Se-Yong began ballet lessons at the age of seven and steadily progressed in skill. “My dad let me do ballet because I was really stiff compared to other boys, so he thought I needed to be more flexible. I started to dream of becoming a ballerino when I was seven or eight.” Se-Yong’s favorite ballet dancers before Billy Elliot were Soo-jin Kang from Stuttgart and Angel Corella from ABT.
Of all the Billys, Se-Yong might have been the one who could relate to Billy the most because he had already gotten the weird look from people as ‘a boy who does ballet.’ “My friends found out I was doing ballet when I was eleven. They picked on me. But after I won competitions, they started to take it seriously. Now they are like ‘Can I have your autograph before you get famous?’”
He participated in many competitions and in 2009 he ranked first at the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP). Se-Yong is expected to be a future star who will one day lead the Korean ballet.
Here, on video, is a portion of his YAGP winning performance:
http://https://youtu.be/Qx2YAgn1Tjo
As he has been on many stages for ballet competitions, Se-Yong does not get nervous on the stage. Choreographer Chung said “He has the composure that kids his age don’t normally have.” Director Hwang said “He is the best when it comes to using his body.” However, as Billy is a boy who hasn’t danced at all at first, SeYong had to learn to move away from his ballet moves that he had been so used to.
The oldest of the four original Billys at 13 as the show opened in Seoul, SeYong expressed Billy’s agony and sadness well and was considered ‘the most mature’ Billy. Musical Director Lee said, “Even in scenes where Billy gets mad, Se-Yong shows more intensity.”
“My specialty is ballet but I was worried whether I could do other dances such as tap and acrobatics at the auditions. Now I want to become better than the British or Australian Billys,” Kim told reporters.
This year, Se-yong entered Sunhwa Arts School, generally considered to be among the most prominent visual arts, music and dance middle schools/high schools in South Korea.
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